Some Roadblocks in the Alec Baldwin for Mayor Campaign

This morning The Daily reported that actor Alec Baldwin is mulling a run for New York City mayor. But if that's the case, Baldwin has some updating to do on his voter registration card. The Smoking Gun has obtained his registration, which shows that the prospective Gotham mayor can't vote in the city he wants to run: he's registered in Suffolk County, "where he owns a secluded spread in tony Amagansett in the Town of East Hampton (about 100 miles from City Hall)."

Baldwin acknowledged the Daily's story on Wednesday with a sort of non-denial denial on Twitter: "It's a long way till November of 2013." His spokesman Matthew Hiltzik is issuing this statement to all inquiries about whether he's considering a mayoral run: "I wouldn't rule it out."

According to The Daily, the 30 Rock star thinks his chances of winning the race are boosted by the fall of expected mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner. "Alec said ‘Hey, maybe this changes the race. The dynamics have shifted,’ according to his friend. " said Baldwin's friend. “The Democrats need a high-profile candidate, and Alec can fill that bill.”

But an updated voter registration card isn't the only thing preventing Baldwin from being viewed as a legitimate candidate. The 53-year-old actor's many years in the spotlight haven't necessarily been squeaky clean. Ugly things from his past, like this ranting phone call to his 11-year-old daughter where he calls her a "thoughtless little pig," would surely get hauled out. He also has to get some better talking points. In January, when he aired his first "I'm going to run for office" trial balloon, he was laughed out of town with his middle class warrior talk. In an interview on CNN with Eliot Spitzer, he railed against "Ivy League-groomed" politicians saying "What's missing is we need people ... who have not lost sight of what the middle class needs." Echoing the reaction of others, New York magazine's Dan Amira said "This going to be his argument? Ditch the elitists, get with the multimillionaire Hollywood celebrity?"

But who knows? This is America. We don't mind Hollywood celebrities becoming politicians. Could this man be the next mayor of New York?

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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